A Forum for Orthodox Jewish thought on Halacha, Hashkafa, and the social issues of our time.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

What Did They Think They Would Accomplish?

A beachfront protest of Chilul Shabbos by Lakewood rabbis

I have to wonder about the wisdom of this ‘protest’. A ‘protest’ is
how an event that took place last Shabbos was characterized. This protest was
organized by BMG (Lakewood) Rosh HaYeshiva, R’ Malkiel Kotler together with the
Satmar Dayan of Lakewood. Its purpose was to protest the violation of Shabbos
by the religious youth of Lakewood that have have abandoned observance of Halacha.

I’m not exactly sure what they were thinking. Does the world
really need to know that religious rabbis protest the violation of Shabbos? Do
young people that have abandoned the ways of their devoutly Orthodox parents
not already know how these rabbis feel about it? Does the world in general need
to be informed that Orthodox Jewish leaders protest violations of Jewish law? Or
do they even care?

If these rabbis were expecting them to be moved to repent by walking through their midst on a Shabbos afternoon reciting Psalms, that
is not what they got. What they got was pure ridicule. It makes me kind of wonder if these rabbinic leaders
even have a clue as to what is going on in the world of Orthodox dropouts. Which is kind of strange since this is one of the biggest topics of discussion - even in their own world. It
appears that they don’t care to know why did these young people abandoned the
heritage of their parents.

This is not a new phenomenon. It has
been around for decades. And discussed to death by all sorts of people. Even those on the right. There was a
feature article on this subject in Agudah’s now defunct magazine, the Jewish Observer back in
the 1990s. If I recall correctly it was their most popular edition ever
published. They sold out and there had been many requests for reprints. As recently as last year, Mishpacha had series of editorials by its editor in chief, Rabbi Moshe Grylak dealing with this problem in places like Bnei Brak.

Even back in the 1990s it wasn’t just a few wayward kids that
were abandoning Halacha. There were enough
young people abandoning observance to create an entire community of young dropouts
from observant families. They were no more
an isolated few people. They had a huge community just like them that gave them comfort and support. A community that would envelop them with a
sense of belonging. They were no longer outsiders. They were a community.Organizations like ‘Footsteps’ developed that would help the dropouts from the most extreme isolated communities transition from the world of observant Judaism to a secular lifestyle devoid of
it.

We now have outreach organizations both in Israel and the US
that cater to these young people. Many of whom have gone on to indulge in every vice
imaginable. Alcohol, drugs, casual sex, and various and sundry other antisocial
behaviors have become a common occurance. Some of these young people come from the finest of religious families. One can even find children of Roshei Yeshiva. There
is no family that is immune to this phenomenon. No matter how religious; No
matter how fine.

As I have said many times in the past, there are many
reasons why someone would abandon his religious heritage. But in Lakewood, I sense that the abandonment does
not come so much from intellectual pursuits. My guess is that many of these dropouts are there because of antisocial reasons – having more to do with parental
rigidity and rejection.

I sense that in many of these cases a father will not
tolerate the slightest deviation from the rigidly religious lifestyle he chosen for his family.
And that can easily turn off a child that is a somewhat independent minded. Or
just feels that he can’t compete in that world. There are the schools that are
so competitive that the level of success they require of their students can
only be achieved by the best and brightest – and only if they work very hard at
it. The parents tend to want to send their kids to these schools. Whose very high standards have earned them their reputations. Thus putting impossible
pressure on a child that can’t cut it. And that can easily discourage a child
to the point of just not caring about his religion any more.

Or they may have a child that wants a taste of some of the ‘forbidden
fruit’ of the secular culture that they constantly speak out against – painting
it all as evil. In some cases if a child sees himself as violating the strict religious
guidelines set by his parents, it
might make him give up on religious observance altogether.

One of my closest friends has a son who is involved in
outreach to formerly religious young people who have gone astray. Many to the
point of drug abuse. He told me of one young man he was working with
got to a point of getting off drugs. The father of this young man was pleased –
and asked how soon his son would be ready to go back to Yeshiva!

I think this kind of clueless reaction is common and explains a lot about the
mindset of Lakewood type parent. It is almost as if getting his son off drugs was irrelevant
to his main goal of getting him back into a Yeshiva. For him getting him off drugs
– a possibly life saving achievement on the part of this organization was seen as
merely a first step towards getting him into the only kind of religious mainstream
he could accept, that of being a Yeshiva Bachur.

And yet despite this obvious and growing problem these Lakewood rabbis continue to be oblivious to it. And see a protest like this as a method of counteracting it. This attitude can only result in an increase the number
of its dropouts. Fewer and fewer young people will be able to cut it in the this
increasingly religiously rigid and overly competitive world. Can rabbinic
leaders in Lakewood really think a protest
march on a Shabbos where these dropouts hangout is going to change anything?!

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About Me

My outlook on Judaism is based mostly on the teachings of my primary Rebbe, Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik from whom I received my rabbinic ordination. It is also based on a search for spiritual truth. Among the various sources that put me on the right path, two great philosophic works stand out: “Halakhic Man” and “Lonely Man of Faith” authored by the pre-eminent Jewish philosopher and theologian, Rabbi, Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Of great significance is Rabbi, Dr. Norman Lamm's conceptualization and models of Torah U’Mada and Dr. Eliezer Berkovits who introduced me to the world of philosophic thought. Among my early influences were two pioneers of American Elementary Torah Chinuch, Rabbis Shmuel Kaufman and Yaakov Levi. The Yeshivos I attended were Yeshivas Telshe for early high school and more significantly, the Hebrew Theological College where for a period of ten years, my Rebbeim included such great Rabbinic figures as Rabbis Mordechai Rogov, Shmaryahu Meltzer, Yaakov Perlow, Herzl Kaplan, and Selig Starr. I also attended Roosevelt University where I received my Bachelor's Degree - majoring in Psychology.